III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 217 

Supporting the designation of May 15, 2023, as ‘‘National Senior Fraud 

Awareness Day’’ to raise awareness about the increasing number of 

fraudulent scams targeted at seniors in the United States, to encourage 

the implementation of policies to prevent those scams from happening, 

and to improve protections from those scams for seniors. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 17, 2023 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. SINEMA) submitted the following resolution; 

which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the designation of May 15, 2023, as ‘‘National 

Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’ to raise awareness about 

the increasing number of fraudulent scams targeted at 

seniors in the United States, to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent those scams from happening, 

and to improve protections from those scams for seniors. 

Whereas millions of individuals age 65 or older (referred to 

in this preamble as ‘‘seniors’’) in the United States are 

targeted by scams each year, including vacation scams, 

Social Security impersonation scams and Internal Revenue Service impersonation scams, other government 

agency impersonation scams, veterans benefits scams, 

health and benefits scams, sweepstakes scams, romance 


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scams, computer tech support scams, grandparent and 

person-in-need scams, debt collection scams, home improvement scams, fraudulent investment schemes, pet 

scams, job opportunity scams, and identity theft; 

Whereas other types of fraud perpetrated against seniors include Medicare impersonation fraud, health care fraud, 

health insurance fraud, counterfeit prescription drug 

fraud, funeral and cemetery fraud, ‘‘anti-aging’’ product 

fraud, telemarketing fraud, charity and disaster scams, 

internet fraud, and cyberattacks; 

Whereas the Government Accountability Office has estimated 

that seniors lose a staggering $2,900,000,000 each year 

to an ever-growing array of financial exploitation schemes 

and scams; 

Whereas, since 2013, the Fraud Hotline of the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate has received more than 

10,000 complaints reporting possible scams from individuals in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

Whereas the ease with which criminals contact seniors 

through the internet and telephone increases as more creative schemes emerge and scammers employ new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and ‘‘spoofing’’ of 

caller ID information, to fraudulently gain the trust of 

seniors; 

Whereas, according to the Consumer Sentinel Network Data 

Book 2022 released by the Federal Trade Commission, 

individuals age 60 or older reported losing around 

$1,600,000,000 to fraud in 2022, with a median loss for 

victims age 80 or older of $1,674, more than 3 times the 


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median amount lost by those victims between the ages of 

50 and 59; 

Whereas senior fraud is underreported by victims due to 

shame, stigma, and lack of information about where to 

report fraud; and 

Whereas May 15, 2023, is an appropriate day to establish as 

‘‘National Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the designation of May 15, 2023, 

3 as ‘‘National Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’; 

4 (2) recognizes National Senior Fraud Aware5 ness Day as an opportunity to raise awareness about 

6 the barrage of scams that individuals age 65 or 

7 older (referred to in this resolution as ‘‘seniors’’) in 

8 the United States face in person, by mail, on the 

9 phone, via text message, and online; 

10 (3) recognizes that law enforcement agencies, 

11 consumer protection groups, area agencies on aging, 

12 and financial institutions all play vital roles in— 

13 (A) preventing the proliferation of scams 

14 targeting seniors in the United States; and 

15 (B) educating seniors about those scams; 

16 (4) encourages— 

17 (A) the implementation of policies to pre18 vent scams targeting seniors; and 


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1 (B) the improvement of efforts to protect 

2 seniors from those scams; and 

3 (5) honors the commitment and dedication of 

4 the individuals and organizations that work tirelessly 

5 to fight against scams targeting seniors. 

Æ 


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